Cross Country: Riker sets new school record, team prepares for counties

The cross-country team is successfully rebounding after losing four key seniors last year, and they seem to be getting better every race.
At the Pacers DC/XC Invitational on Sept. 24, history was made. Sophomore John Riker finished with the fastest 5K time in school history at 15:37. The record was previously held by Josh Trzeciak with a time of 15:42.7, set in 2012.
All the teams ran hard and placed high in the standings. Most notably, the boys’ varsity sophomore class finished in first with a score of 37, the girls’ varsity freshman class finished in second with a score of 53, and the girls’ varsity sophomore class finished in second with a score of 29.
At the meet against Richard Montgomery and Churchill on Sept. 28, the boys’ team finished in second, three points behind the winner. Riker again led all the runners and finished with the fastest time of 18:11.41. Other top finishers for the boys were junior Mitchell Fanger, who finished in fourth with a time of 18:24.94, and senior Ben Shapiro, who finished in seventh with a time of 18:37.91.
The girls0 dominated the course, finishing with 10 of the top 12 runners. They were led by sophomores Adna Trakic, with a time of 22:19.09, and Jessica Trzeciak, who finished with a time of 22:19.44. Seniors Gwen Klein, Valerie Hubert and sophomore Sage Kumar rounded out the top five for the girls.
At the meet against Quince Orchard and Walter Johnson on Oct. 5, the boys again bested the other teams, finishing with five of the top 10 runners. Riker and fellow sophomore Joe Pohoryles finished with the top times. The girls finished in second behind WJ. Five girls were in the top 10, but the highest one, Trakic, finished fifth.
In the Glory Days Invitational Meet on Oct. 8, both teams did not perform up to their normal standards. Out of 37 teams, the boys finished in 22nd place, while the girls finished in 16th out of 29 teams. Riker again finished with the top time for the boys, but that was only the 19th fastest time overall. Trzeciak finished with the top time for the girls, which was 20:18, only good enough for 35th place. “Our race performances have been good but we can certainly improve,” coach Matthew Davis said.
Individuals in both teams are stepping up this year. “This season, our team is doing fairly well, as we have had some outstanding individual performances,” junior Jason Eisen said.
The team has high hopes for counties. “I would hope for counties that our team could be top three for both boys and girls,” Davis said.
The team’s next meet is the county championships, on Oct. 22, which is too late to be covered in this issue. “If (and when) we make states, I believe our team has a real shot of exceeding expectations because our top seven runners have really come a long way this season, improving their times dramatically,” Eisen said.